Supreme Court Rejects Indrani Mukherjee’s Request to Travel Abroad, Citing No Assurance of Her Return.
The Supreme Court today denied Indrani Mukerjea’s request to travel abroad while her trial in the Sheena Bora murder case is still ongoing. The Court dismissed her Special Leave Petition (SLP) and ordered that the trial be completed within one year. Mukerjea, who was granted bail in 2022 after spending 6.5 years in jail, challenged a Bombay High Court ruling from September 27, 2024, which had also denied her travel request. The Bench, led by Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal, chose not to overturn the High Court’s decision.
During the hearing, Mukerjea’s lawyer, Sana Raees Khan, argued that the Supreme Court had previously allowed her to travel abroad with permission from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. Mukerjea wanted to go to Spain to handle a will. However, Justice Bindal noted that she had a Power of Attorney (PoA) in Spain who could manage her legal affairs. Khan responded that biometrics were needed, which the PoA could not provide. Justice Sundresh raised concerns about the risk of her not returning, stating, “There is no guarantee that you will come back now.” Khan insisted that Mukerjea had not misused her bail and had surrendered voluntarily before. Ultimately, the Court dismissed her SLP, saying, “Given that the trial is ongoing, we cannot consider the request at this time. Expedite the trial within one year from today.”
On May 18, 2022, the Apex Court granted bail to Indrani Mukherjea. The Court stated that she had been in custody for 6.5 years and did not comment on the case’s merits. They noted that even if half of the witnesses for the prosecution withdrew, the trial would still take a long time. Indrani Mukherjea was arrested in 2015 and faces charges of criminal conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, and destruction of evidence related to the murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora, with the help of her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, current husband Peter Mukherjea, and driver Shyamvar Rai.
Cause Title: Indrani Mukherjea v. Central Bureau of Investigation [SLP(Crl) No. 17027/2024; Diary No. 54679/2024]
